By: Timothy Kays
The Williams County Sheriff’s Office grew by two road deputies on the afternoon of July 31, as Deputies Kyle Esckilsen and Tyler Maynard were promoted from probationary status to that of full-time officers in a small but significant ceremony.
Deputy Tyler Maynard is a familiar face around Williams County. A member of the Stryker High School Class of 2013, Tyler is following in the footsteps of his late mother, Heather, the first female SWAT team member in Lucas County…but he didn’t start off that way.
“I was actually interested in zoology, initially,” he explained. “Then I realized that that was four years of schooling with worse pay than here, which is hard to do. And so I decided not to go that route. Then I actually looked into communication…I was going to try and getinto some sort of sports broadcasting. Decided not to go that route, and went through ride-alongs with my mom.”
“I had well over 400 ride-along hours with Sylvania Township, and had an internship with them through college. And through all that, to see the change that they were able to achieve in people’s lives as far as your everyday theft complaint, to domestic violence and worse yet to see the change that they were able to make…just to be able to be there for the survivors or victims, it’s huge.”
Tyler did his academy work at Owens Community College in Findlay, and like so many other graduates, he quickly discovered that field work and the academy are two entirely different worlds. “As far as the academy goes,” he said, “…they train you for a lot of general things that you may deal with in the field. And being in the field, it’s completely different because then you’re able to adapt to what elements are going to be in your area, and what you’re going to deal with on a regular basis.”
“So in the academy, they would teach us stuff that would help us out in big cities like Toledo, Columbus, places like that if we got into the suburbs in that area. And coming out here, we don’t have very much gang activity that we deal with on a daily basis like they do.”
Tyler credits his mother for bringing him to his career in law enforcement, beginning with the Hicksville Police Department in February 2018, and moving to the WCSO in July of 2019. “She was the first female SWAT team member in Lucas County,” he said, “…and I’m kind of following in her footsteps with that. I saw the impact she was able to make in people’s day-to-day lives, and I saw that that was something that I absolutely wanted to do.”
“Just to see the change in some of the victim’s eyes, just by your interaction and intervention is very unique. It’s something that you can’t get in any other field. She was a road patrol, but she was also a SWAT team member, and she instructed a lot of the Toledo Police force in their first application of the pit maneuver.”
“As law enforcement,” he said, “…we’re here to help you out. We you know, we’d, I’d much rather have interactions with people when they are at their lowest point or in their in their time of need, than for them not to reach out. We’re here for them. We’re here to help them out in their moment of crisis; that’s why we’re here and if we can, we’ll change a couple lives along the way. That’s the goal.”
Deputy Kyle Esckilsen took the long road to arrive in Williams County. “I’m originally from Saginaw, Michigan,” he said. “I’m a GM transfer kid. My dad transferred to Defiance around 2006 or 2007, so that’s how I ended up down in the Defiance area. I went to the Marine Corps out at Camp Pendleton, spent four years out there on active duty.”
“Did a deployment to Afghanistan; I was a field radio operator for an artillery unit. Got out, drove truck for a little bit, and decided I wanted to serve people again.” Kyle did his academy work at Northwest State Community College. “Actually Chief (Jeff) Lehman was one of my instructors,” he said.
Now settled in the area, the Esckilsen family is comprised of Kyle, his wife Andrea, and their two children, four year old Cali and two year old Kortni.
“I just enjoy talking to people,” Kyle said, “…helping out when I can. We tend to help people when they can be at their lowest of lows. I enjoy making an impact. I’m a people person…honestly, I like socializing with people. We’re just ordinary people that’s just doing our job. We’re just trying to help the best we can. It’s a hard time right now, so I hope for people to understand that we’re just human.”
Timothy can be reached at tim@thevillagereporter.com
